Congratulations to Hollaback! New Orleans! The team plans to create a public art installation and digital media exhibit for individuals to share their stories through audio or video recording. They write, “the public art installation is discovered, stumbled upon, and perhaps even surprising.” Their aim is to engage a larger audience on the issues women, people identifying as women, and members of the LGBTQ community face daily and promote bystander intervention. We are so excited!

Here’s how they won: In December, with generous support from Voqal, Hollaback! embarked on the second round of the Hollaback! InnovationChallenge: a campaign-based challenge for Hollaback! site leaders around the world. To apply, site leaders proposed and outlined future innovative projects in their communities. The winning site was awarded $1000 (US) to implement and document their project over the next few months, along with tickets to present at this year’s HOLLA::Revolution in London on June 23rd.

We received some amazing projects this round, including community-based safety audits, clicker-based art projects, HOLLA-hero illustration projects, and more. A select group of Hollaback! board members evaluated the proposals and chose the winning team.
Want to learn more? Check out the team’s updates in our weekly Week In Our Shoes postings, go to Hollaback! New Orleans’ site, or head on down to this year’sHOLLA::Revolution in London, UK to watch them present on their final project.

I (rather unwillingly) went to a club recently, to humour a friend that doesn’t go out much. We were four girls, just dancing by ourselves in a little square, clearly not looking for anyone to join us. The male hand as they’re ‘passing by’ on the back/bum is (all too) typical in clubs, but my ass got full-on felt up for probably four or five seconds before I realised what was happening. As a reflex, I turned around and slapped the guy in the face. It wasn’t hard enough that it would sting or anything, but he definitely knew I was serious. I can’t remember exactly what I said because I was so fumingly angry, but it was a lot of stuff along the lines of ‘you don’t fucking do that, that’s not okay never pull that shit again’ until my friends realised there was something serious going on and pulled me away. I was almost shaking for a while until I calmed down. I’m in my early twenties, and I have been harassed both on the street and off since I was probably 14– I have literally no tolerance for it anymore.

Also, later in the night one of my friends that I was with got groped as well, but someone reached from behind her, like how you would wipe a baby’s bum, but from front to back. She had never had anything like that intense happen to her and was in shock at first, and was angry later. Pretty awful experience for the both of us.

It happens every day to walk towards work and back home. Walking alone in the street apparently automatically gives them the right to harass me verbally. Insults or comments are all disgusting and also generate a deep indignation and sense of abandonment. While in Chile these behaviors can be reported, the implications for the aggressor are void. Finally not wanting to leave with the discomfort or anger I chose to insult them, but that is not enough

Even though it’s still rather chilly, things around headquarters sure are heating up in preparation for our Annual Anti-Street Harassment Rally in NYC on April 11th! We’re kicking off International Anti-Street Harassment Week with activism, speakers, performers, and workshops! If that isn’t intense enough for you, you’ll at least need to come to see our GIANT INFLATABLE CAT (#catsagainstcatcalling)! You definitely don’t want to miss this!

The Holla Staff spent so much time traveling this week! Our ED Emily May was in the Midwest on Tuesday where she spoke at Indiana State University! Our Deputy Director Debjani Roy also went to The Urban Assembly Institute of Math & Science for Young Women on Thursday to do a training as part of our pilot program in NYC public schools.

Speaking of bystander intervention, we’re super impressed with Ontario’s new bystander intervention PSA that puts you in the perspective of someone witnessing assault or harassment and asks the question #WhoWillYouHelp?

Now let’s see what our sites have been up to…

Hollaback! Berlinhad their very first (offline) meeting! They invited people to come share their stories of everyday sexism, street harassment, and help them plan the Holla Revolution! On International Women’s Day, site leader Julia did a radio special on feminism and intersectionality (go Julia!) which you can listen to here.

Hollaback! BaltimoreREPRESENTED at Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday for a Women’s History Month workshop on street harassment sponsored by LGBTQ Life at JHU. Check out their Twitter to see their live tweeting about the event! They’ve also partnered with Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle to host “Malcolm X Talks: Feminism and Intersectionality in the 21st Century” on March 30th! RSVP here!

Hollaback! Duke Universitylaunched their blog! They already partnered with Duke Splash to teach fifteen middle and high school girls about the importance of bystander intervention and standing up to street harassment. Check out Social Media Chair Katie Becker’s article she wrote for the Duke Chronicle and follow their Facebook and Twitter to learn more about all the great stuff they’re doing!

Hollaback! Italy gave a workshop on #StreetHarassment on Saturday! The workshop was hosted by the Palazzo Ducale in Genova and co-sponsored by the Association of LGBT Approdo Ostilia Mulas, a territorial committee of Arcigay Genova. Way to educate!

Hollaback! Nottinghamearned big bucks for their campaign at their FEMSTIVAL event last Saturday! This event was hosted by The Chameleon Arts Cafe in Nottingham and presented by UoN Feminists, High Society, Punksoc, & Art Soc from Nottingham University. The all-day event featured feminist punk and indie bands, crafts, zines, cakes, and a whole lotta feminist fun! Then, on Tuesday they attended Nottingham Citizens’ pre-election event in order to demand that the Nottingham Council recognize street harassment as a gender-based hate crime.